Voice of the people (letter).

Unhealthy Air

CHICAGO — In calling for federal air quality standards that are "realistic, worth the cost and . . . achievable" (Editorial, June 29), the Tribune is forgetting or ignoring a very important point: a person's right to know when and to what extent the air is unhealthy.

Federal health standards are more than just goals for reducing air pollution. They are also the measuring stick by which the Illinois EPA decides if air quality is safe. And as it stands now, the air is officially safe in the Chicago region an unbelievable 99 percent of the time.

Day after day the Tribune Weather section, the state's air pollution hot line and others report "good" or "moderate" air quality, when science and common sense tell us that the air is actually quite unhealthy. These unreported health threats create a dangerous situation for those who need to know when to limit outdoor activity, including the elderly, children, people with lung and heart diseases and anyone who exercises.

Therefore, stronger air standards are needed to more accurately convey the risks associated with air pollution; they are also needed to ensure that metropolitan Chicago will continue to make steady progress toward air that is truly healthy.

The only way to get cleaner air tomorrow is to push technology by setting goals that may be hard to meet today. At the same time, the president's plan is realistic in that it gives the Chicago region more than 10 years to meet the standards and commits to significant air-pollution measures that will help us meet the new goals.

The American Lung Association of Metropolitan Chicago thanks the administration for its courage in resisting an extensive lobbying and misinformation campaign against stronger air quality standards. It's time to put false claims about barbecue bans and farming restrictions behind us by developing sensible, cost-effective strategies for meeting the new standards.